Text 17]
Divinity and Divine Service
107
us against unscrupulous men who take pleasure in being addressed as God.
The servants of God come to propagate God consciousness, and intelligent people should cooperate with them in every respect. By serving the servant of God, one can please God more than by directly serving the Lord. The Lord is more pleased when He sees that His servants are properly respected because such servants risk everything for the service of the Lord and so are very dear to the Lord. The Lord declares in the  Bhagavad-gītā  (Bg. 18.69) that no one is dearer to Him than one who risks everything to preach His glory. By serving the servants of the Lord, one gradually gets the quality of such servants, and thus one becomes qualified to hear the glories of God. The eagerness to hear about God is the first qualification of a devotee for entering the kingdom of God.
TEXT 17
शृण्वतां स्वकथाः कृष्णः पुण्यश्रवणकीर्तनः । हृद्यन्तःस्थो ह्यभद्राणि विधुनोति सुहृत्सताम् ॥१७॥
śṛṇvatām sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti su-hṛt-satām
śṛṇvatām—those who have developed the urge to hear the message of; sva-kathāḥ—His own words; kṛṣṇaḥ—the Personality of Godhead; puṇya—virtues; śravaṇa—hearing; kīrtanaḥ—chanting; hṛdi antaḥ-sthaḥ—within one's heart; hi—certainly; abhadrāṇi—desire to enjoy matter; vidhunoti—cleanses; su-hṛt—benefactor; satām—of the truthful.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.
PURPORT
Messages of the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa are nondifferent from Him. Whenever, therefore, offenseless hearing of God is undertaken,